Buckskin (leather)

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Buckskin is the soft, pliable, porous preserved hide of an animal, usually deer, moose or elk, but potentially any animal's hide. Modern leather labeled "buckskin" may be made of sheepskin tanned with modern chromate tanning chemicals and dyed to resemble real buckskin. Leather is a different product made from animal hide, but with a different chemical process to preserve the hide. Buckskin is preserved with a dressing of some kind of lubricant, physically manipulated to make it soft and pliable, and usually smoked with woodsmoke. Smoking gives buckskin its typical dark honey color, but is not required. Unsmoked buckskin is lighter, even white, in color. Though it might be tempting to think that the name comes from buck, a male deer, the name buckskin comes from the alkali soaking process, called bucking. Clothing made of buckskin is referred to as buckskins.

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